


Fitting the broken pieces back together

by pinkytoothless011



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Feral Behavior, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Minor Barbara Lake/Walter Strickland | Stricklander, Possession, Post-Season/Series 03, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Temporary Amnesia, Troll Jim Lake Jr.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21886804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkytoothless011/pseuds/pinkytoothless011
Summary: Jim is back home from New Jersey for a visit. But things don't go quite to plan while cave exploring with Claire and Toby he comes across a strange changeling, green, ivory horned and winged with amnesia.Things quickly get out of hand when memories resurface for the changeling, Claire starts acting strangely and Nomura comes along for the ride.Nothing can be normal in this town, not even for a couple of weeks.(The amnesic changeling is Strickler if anyone was wondering).
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez
Comments: 24
Kudos: 53





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers, hope you enjoy this story, the next chapter shouldn't take too long to post.  
> And this will be shorter than my other fanfiction.

Jim sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time, as Blinky lectured him on the massive dangers of going away for a couple of weeks.

If he went on for one more minute he would seriously consider biting his mentor.

“Master Jim, just please heed my words and take the utmost care, you never know what could lurk in the shadows. And especially after that dreadful drama with the Akiridians and so soon after Gunmar!"

Jim rolled his eyes at that, it had been almost five months since the eternal night, Arcadia was sure to be as normal as possible by now.

His thoughts went to his mom, she must be so lonely with no one in the house, or any decent food for that matter.

Of course Toby and Aaarrrgghh were there for quite a lot of the time, but still.

“Master Jim! Are you even listening to me!” Blinky demanded, annoyance glimmering in his many eyes.

Jim looked at Claire despairingly and his girlfriend shrugged with a knowing smile, “He didn't hear a thing Blinky."

Blinky harrumphed, folding his upper arms petulantly, “Alright, I understand you are keen to get going.”

He gave Jim a firm hug, squeezing him tightly, “Be safe my dear boy, and come back in one piece!”

“Sure thing Blinky, take care of these crazy idiotic troll’s.” Jim said with a roll of his eyes.

Jim rubbed his head against Blinky's shoulders before untangling himself from the four armed troll, tugging his recently packed bag to a more comfortable position.

Now that Jim was mostly troll he could hold way more weight, it was crazy.

Especially since Before he had been almost noodle like.

He still woke up from nightmares about that tub and the bathroom, among other things.  
At least now he could get away from stupid Merlin.

Turning to Claire he bowed teasingly, “After you my fair Juliet.”

Claire sighed melodramatically, “My knight in shining armour!” she declared and skipped forward in order to kiss him on the lips quickly.

The gyre station had only been fixed last week after months of work, otherwise Jim and Claire might have gone home sooner.  
But the rest of new Trollmarket was still rather makeshift and it would be years before to began to resemble a home for them.

At least Merlin had been kind enough to give him and Claire a decent cave that on the inside was like a slightly dated apartment, Jim had to literally beg Merlin to get Nomura a similar set up, as the wizard hadn’t really been impressed with using his magic for a changeling.

But still, there was no place like home and Jim couldn’t wait to see his mom and Toby and Aaarrrgghh.

Bounding forward eagerly he shouted back to Claire, “Come on! The sooner we get home, the sooner I can sleep in a real bed!”

Within seconds the Trollhunter had disappeared from sight with Claire, leaving Blinky staring after them desolately.

He knew he had to stay, things weren’t that stable yet for him to go back to Arcadia too, he prayed Jim wouldn’t get into any trouble, it would be fine, nothing bad would happen.

Dr Barbara Lake stared out of the window gloomily, she had to admit it, she was lonely.

She missed Jim so much and even texting everyday and video chatting every now and then did little to ease her aching heart.

Even going to the Nunez place to help with the changeling familiars only staved off the feeling of isolation slightly.

And when she did go out it was like everyone was treading around eggshells and the word 'Jim' was taboo or something.

Toby and Aaarrrgghh understood exactly what she was feeling, and they helped a lot.  
But they still had others to hang out with, they were never alone.

So when she opened the front door at the knock at ten past eight at night, half asleep and still in a depressed mood she nearly bawled her eyes out at the sight that met her eyes.

It was Jim.

Awkward, blue skinned, horned and tall, really tall, her son gave a small wave, “Hey mom.”

“Jim!!” she cried and flung herself at him in an fierce hug.

The blasted amulet hadn’t been permanently stuck to him and the amour was no longer glued to him, instead Jim was wearing a large pair of faded blue jeans and a loose blue hoodie in order to accommodate his larger frame.

“It’s so good to see you, I missed you so, so much!” Jim almost sobbed.

Barbara wiped her eyes quickly, “Me too kiddo, me too.”

When Toby and Aaarrrgghh came to the Lake house there was much joyous shouting and exclamations of surprise and hugging.

It was a utter delight seeing the four of them reunited and so happy.

The only thing that was missing was Blinky, but someone had to stay behind to watch over the trolls and continue to direct the building of new Trollmarket.

Once more Barbara had people filling her house and it brought a warm smile on her face seeing her son so happy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being lonely still.

Jim had truly never felt such utter bliss as laying down on his own bed in his own room.

He still couldn’t believe it, the same posters the same stuff on the shelves. Everything was the same, except him that is.

He loved how some things never changed.

The only down side was his mom had insisted that Claire go back to her own home, he guessed his mom would be pretty pissed to learn that he and Claire slept together in the same bed, she’d probably give him a lecture about the dangers of STDs and how he was too young to get into a committed relationship, which was why he wouldn’t tell her.

Also without the comforting presence of his girlfriend the silence of the place made him really uncomfortable and meant he could think, and if he could think he would start to remember...

Growling softly, Jim got out of bed and crept downstairs stealthily, pausing at the bottom of the staircase Jim called out quietly, “Mom?”

Barbara immediately responded, “What is it honey?” as Jim slid into view, his ears pressed back and chewing his lip nervously.

“Can I stay here for a while?” he asked.

Barbara smiled gently, “Of course, can you tell me about how New Trollmarket is doing?”

Jim groaned, coming over to sit next to his mom, relieved at not being questioned too much, “Oh you have no idea how difficult it is dealing with trolls every day is...”

The next couple of days Jim was completely fined nothing particularly exciting, mainly catching up with Aaarrrgghh and Toby about what they had been doing for all this time, which was admittedly really awesome.

The rest of the time was spent playing stupid video games, and trying not to eat the controller when he lost, and going around town with Aaarrrgghh, and of course making his mom decent food.

Just because he couldn’t taste it didn’t mean no one else could.

Although it hurt deeply that he would never taste normal food again.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Toby declaring through a mouthful of fresh home made pizza; “God I missed chief Jim so much! Claire this is heavenly, am I right or am I right?”

Claire giggled from where she was lounging on the sofa next to Toby, “You’re most definitely right TP. I could get used to this.”

Jim grinned. He couldn’t agree more, too bad nothing peaceful lasted long for the trollhunters team.

It started when Toby told Claire and Jim about these really cool caves a couple of miles out in the forest he and Aaarrrgghh had come across.

They hadn’t had time to explore and naturally Jim said they should go and check them out.

His mom was of course very worried, as Jim knew she would be, but he told her they all had plenty of food, their phones and flashlights as well as their weapons.

Jim had his amulet, Toby had his war hammer and Claire had her staff.

It wasn’t as incredible as the shadow staff had been but it too could collapse into a smaller form.

It was light icy blue, and jagged and sharp like a icicle and could freeze enemies and make the floor slippery.

Claire had called it Shard, which was a pretty cool name, no pun intended.

Aaarrrgghh didn’t come with them, even though they urged the Krubera with pleading looks, he kept repeating that the place was bad and had a evil smell.

The trio didn’t know what to make of the firm refusal but they couldn’t force him to come if he didn’t want to.

Anyway, if anything did go wrong Jim was there to protect his friends, and he wouldn’t let anything harm them, not on his watch.

“OK. We will.” Jim promised, “Bye mom, we should be back home at around...eleven? You sure you don’t mind? We can get back earlier- alright, alright, thanks mom. Love you.”

Jim hung up, tucking his phone into his pocket as he, Claire and Toby reached the dark and gloomy entrance to the caves.

It was the earliest Jim could be outside currently, as they had wanted to spend the whole day-night- whatever, out in the caves before the sun came up.

One of the only good things about being only half troll was the fact he could stay out longer than the average troll, which at least meant he could still see a sunset if he was under suitable shade.

Jim grinned at his friends, “Let’s do this!”

Half an hour later and Jim was regretting his idea of cave exploring being fun.

It was actually hard work, especially as Claire and Toby didn’t have claws or night vision to help them navigate around in the dark and often cramped areas which made it tough going.

And Toby complained a lot, “Oh my god. This is officially the absolute worst! I think I might have stepped in bat poop or some other animal shit, urgh- I think I’m gonna hurl it’s stuck to my foot, oh this sucks majorly! Jiiiimm, can we go home now, I think I’ve seen enough. We could be doing ordinary safe things right now, like playing Go-Go Sushi, or heck even some training or- holy mother of monsters what the hell is that?”

Toby’s almost endless flow of words dried up at the sight of the set of giant doors blocking the way forward.

Jim gave a low whistle of disbelief, gazing up at the massive carved doors that had materialized out of nowhere, it was so odd that there were still more mysteries to Arcadia not yet discovered.

“Looks like things are about to get interesting.” Jim remarked to Claire, who was shinning her flashlight at the entrance, because the doors were open, just blocked by a heap of massive boulders.

These doors had been carved from the surrounding stone and were etched all over in strange hieroglyph’s and weird symbols.

It was like something out of lord of the rings, it was mythical and unearthly, as if from a time long ago and definitely not the 21st century.

Claire gasped and Jim tensed, “What?” he asked tersely.

“Some of this writing, I think it’s Latin, because I can kind of read it.”

Toby blinked, “Of course you know Latin. Why the Frick do you know Latin?”

Claire rolled her eyes, “ I took it up instead of Spanish, it was one of the other language options we could pick, and besides I don’t know a lot of it.”

“Do I even want to know what it says?” Jim said nervously.

“It says 'Trespass at your greatest peril or suffer... a terrible...death'” Claire translated with some difficulty as the writing was faded with age and quite small.

Jim hesitated, wondering if they should just turn around and forget they had seen the weird doorway with its hostile warnings, but it looked pretty deserted and dead...

“OK let’s get rid of this blockage and see what’s inside.”

Toby whimpered, “ I thought you’d say that.”

Holding out the amulet, Jim quietly incanted, “For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!”

In a swirl of magical blue light his familiar armour formed around Jim’s body, clanking into place, Daylight manifesting into his oddly fingered hands instantaneously.

Jim charged, swinging his sword at the hard stone and groaned in dismay, one boulder was rubble, only about a million more left!

Toby stepped up next to him, his War Hammer in hand, “Need a little help Jimbo?” his best friend asked, Claire by his side, her staff out and at the ready.

The three of them set to work, freezing, burning and smashing their way through the barrier bit by bit.

Eventually after what seemed like forever they cut through.

The dust cloud that rose from the rubble causing Jim to cough loudly, waving his hands in the air in front of him in an effort to clear the air and see where they were.  
When the dust settled Jim let out a awed gasp, his jaw dropping in astonishment along with Toby and Claire.

They stood in a massive hall that had been directly carved into the surrounding rock, with tiny slitted windows right at the top which let in small rays of the light outside to filter inside.

It was set up like some sort of laboratory, with lots of weird, rusted equipment lying around on long tables.

And shelves and shelves of dusty books, with a broken metal ladder on the floor in a far off corner.

What really creeped the half-troll out were the corridors branching out from the main hall that were lined with cages, barred and with empty chains.

Some of them still contained what appeared to be troll skeletons, causing Jim to shiver in dread, this was a evil place he could feel it.

They scanned the hall, a spiral staircase wound up somewhere into the darkness above and there was a odd shape that only now Jim noticed, lying next to the broken ladder he could only just about see, shadowed as it was.

It looked like a body, a human one.

It was oddly preserved, almost like it was someone just taking a nap and would at any second wake up..

Jim shuddered in horror, he forced himself to calm down, it was just a mummified dead person, nothing to be scared of.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by Toby exclaiming, “Damn. Look at these claw marks, they’re intense!”

Claire shinned her flashlight at the wall behind them, where the boulders had been, long claw marks raked across the stone, like some desperate animal had attempted to escape.

“It looks as if something may have been alive here.” Claire whispered.

Toby laughed nervously, “Maybe it’s still alive. HELLO ANYONE HOME!” he called out, the echoes jumping around and coming back in eerie whispers that caused something in the shadows to skitter away and dart up the stairs, although it might just have been a mouse.

Jim shivered again, he really doubted he had seen a mouse, it had looked like...a troll.

“Tobes, somehow I feel that was the stupidest thing you could have done, and if we get eaten by rabid trolls I swear-.”

Toby whimpered, “Okay, okay I know, it was just getting a little too creepy in here. I was nervous alright?!” he hissed at Claire who was glaring at him.

Jim shrugged, “Lets just check out those books over there.” He said to quickly get everyone’s mind off potential ghosts and demon trolls that might be lurking around here in the black shadows.

He walked slowly to the nearest dust shrouded table, dismissing is armour so he could use the amulet to translate whatever was written there.

He shinned the light towards the nearest ratty leather cover of a book and the gold writing glowed blue before translating first into Trollish and then into English.

Claire and Toby huddled closer to Jim in order to see the book clearly, Jim read out the title, “The property of Lady Argant, catalogue of experiments, tome nine.”

The three friends exchanged looks, before Claire reached over Jim and opened the book to a random page, a faint vaporous purple smoke coiling up from the page with a small moan, and dissolving at contact with Claire's hand, she rubbed it with a frown but none of them had noticed.

Jim shined his amulet on the page Claire had flipped to, it was a diagram of a troll that had been badly smudged.

He could only make out the rough shape of the body, what appeared to be wings and the vague shape of arching horns.

Claire read out the passage next to the drawing, “Subject is proving to be successful and no longer has any memory of who he was before. The stalkling DNA has successfully been grafted to him and has enhanced the subject to withstand sunlight exposure for up to two hours longer than average for a troll before beginning to suffer. Disappointingly he has through this process lost the capability to speak coherently. The subject will soon be terminated-.”

Jim had enough, hearing this reminded him so much of what Merlin had done to him, he grabbed the book off Claire and flung it away with a soft snarl.

“Whoever that-that witch was I hope she’s dead!” Jim said angrily.

Claire rested her hand on Jim's arm soothingly, before saying; “That poor troll I wonder why this happened, no one could have deserved such a fate!”

Toby shivered, “Well, this adventure is kinda turning into a nightmare. Whoever that Lady was must have been experimenting on trolls to create some supersoldier or something. I mean temporary sunlight immunity and added features sounds awesomesauce!”

Jim shook his head firmly, “No, it’s not 'awesomesauce' this is almost worse than what Morgana did with changelings and what Merlin did to me, it’s wrong, immoral and-and evil!” the Trollhunter threw his arms in the air in frustration with a low growl.

“I need to see what’s upstairs, maybe I can find a little more about all this.” Jim said determinedly, thinking about the shadowy figure he had seen go up there, if it was possible he would free whatever had been living here, or deal with a deranged, possibly dangerous monster.

Claire raised an eyebrow at him, “We’re coming with you.”

Jim shook his head, “I want to do this alone, if you two don’t mind.”

Toby in response grabbed another book, “We’ll keep looking around here then.”

Jim smiled, kissed Claire quickly on the lips, careful not to catch his tusks on her skin before bounding towards the staircase, summoning his armour as he ran in case whatever was up there was unfriendly.

He took the crumbling steps two at a time, he burst out onto a long hallway, eerily silent and freezing cold.

Jim crept forward slowly, straining his ears for any sounds, he hesitated at the one door that was open a crack, taking in a deep breath he pushed the door and silently entered.

The room he stepped into was really ornate, at least it had been, once upon a time. It must have been that Lady Argant's room, Jim thought in disgust.

The walls were covered in old paintings, but the majority had been torn up viciously.

Jim moved closer to the nearest painting, tracing out the shape of a magnificent horses powerful chest and a helmeted knights head, only the front part of the massive painting was intact the rest was ruined.

And then there was a rustle from behind Jim and the half-troll spun around, scanning the room carefully, there was a large canopy bed in the centre of the room, engraved all over with gruesome images of savage battles between monstrous creatures.

The thick blankets looked slightly mangy and tattered but we’re still in relatively good condition, they were heaped into what appeared to be a nest.

Frowning, Jim crouched down glancing superstitiously at the ceiling in case anything was hanging over him, and caught a dart of shadowy movement out of the corner of his eyes, the rasp of claws on stone reaching his ears.

“Hey, whoever you are I swear, I mean you no harm, if you can understand me I want to get you out of this place.”

The rustling stopped and Jim glanced around nervously, wondering if he had been an idiot and had been talking to a mouse or rat.

And then a pair of wild glowing yellow eyes appeared out of the darkness, a feral gleam to them, shinning with suspicion and mistrust.

The creature growled fiercely the glint of tusks catching the light of Jim's armour.

Jim tried making himself smaller, so that the creature would feel less threatened, lowering his eyes he made sure to speak softly, “Its alright. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The creature snarled again, edging closer and shooting a distrustful glare at Jim's armour.

The half-troll glanced at down at his gauntleted hands and dismissed the armour, no wonder the creature didn’t want to go near him, not if he still was hostile looking with his glowing armour.

The creature relaxed slightly, giving a approving rumble it came forward into the weak light on all fours and Jim couldn’t help but gasp.

It was the oddest troll Jim had ever seen. It- he-was green, like moss, with large ivory horns that curved backwards and were branched here and there with smaller prongs, as the trolls horns had grown wild.

He looked really gaunt and malnourished, and was way slimmer than any troll Jim had seen.

He had almost human like hair that around the shoulders ended in a thick ruff of grey-black fur similar to NotEnrique's scruff.

But what really surprised Jim were the large wings growing out of the trolls back and the thin tail that was curled close to his body and ended in a tuft of fur.

Then, finally, Jim realized something, this troll had glowing eyes, five fingered, not four and more human in apperance than other trolls...

“You’re not a troll, you’re a changeling!” Jim exclaimed.


	2. Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The feral changeling is liberated from his prison and gets his first look at the modern word in Jim's house and a memory surfaces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short but I hope you enjoy and leave a comment. Which will motivate me to finish this:)

Jim’s loud exclamation of surprise caused the changeling to recoil back, eyes widening fearfully and tail twitching.

Jim wondered how long the winged troll had been living here for, would he even understand English?

Both the Trollhunter and the changeling studied each other intently, until Jim had enough.

“You do understand me, right?” Jim asked.

The troll gave a short snort of annoyance, before nodding warily.

“Oh, that’s good. Do-do you have a name? My name is Jim Lake Jr.” He introduced himself.

The changeling shook his head, clenching his fists together in frustration.

Jim suddenly understood, “You don’t remember.” It wasn’t a question.

The changeling cautiously nodded again, giving a low growl of anger.

Jim sighed, “Look, it’s no point staying stuck on the past, especially if you don't remember anything, let’s just get out of this place.” 

He stretched out his five fingered hand towards the changeling and for a moment he studied it, before shrugging and slowly placing it in the Trollhunters firm grip.

The half-troll stood up, dragging the changeling up with him.

Jim hesitated then asked, “Can you speak?”

The other troll tilted his head to one side thoughtfully, he opened his mouth and rasped out in a low hiss, “Yes.”

His voice was rough from disuse and his mane stood up in fear as if expecting to be punished for not speaking clearly.

Jim reassuringly squeezed the changeling's hand and then let go gesturing towards the stairs beyond the door, “Lets go.” He said.

Hesitating, the changeling took a step forward warily gazing at Jim, giving a low snarl as the half-troll moved closer to him.

Jim raised his hands and backed off and waiting for the other troll to start down before following after, towards his friends who were still downstairs.

Claire and Toby had absently browsed through the books on the tables but without the amulet to translate they hadn’t had anything to do.

Claire was just about to go upstairs to find Jim when she heard the clatter of claws on stone and a troll came into view.

It wasn’t Jim.

This was something else entirely, gaunt, winged and yellow eyed the troll tensed, stiffly backing up a few places, just as Jim came down behind the troll, almost ramming into him.

The changeling reproachfully stared at the Trollhunter, annoyed the boy hadn’t told him about these humans and at how unfriendly they appeared, the girl tense and the chubby one with his mouth hanging open- in a threat display?

“Sorry, this is my best friend Toby and my girlfriend Claire.” Jim said hurriedly, “But I think introductions can wait until we’re outside.”

The changeling’s curiosity at the two squashy humans vanished, replaced by delight at the meer thought of being outside again.

He couldn’t believe this, he was finally going to be free.

All of them wanted to get out of the miserable hall as quick as possible, and so no one noticed that the shrivelled body at the collapsed ladder had disappeared.

The changeling watched the two young humans collapse onto the grass-actual grass-in disbelief, not quite comprehending what he was seeing.

Jim grinned at the awe on the changeling’s face and leapt out of the cave, glad to feel the wind in his hair and to be free of the suffocating musk of the underground laboratory.

The changeling didn’t follow, Outside was a forest, that he knew, but Outside was bigger then he remembered.

He wondered briefly if his rescuers would disappear and he would wake up back inside, with no hope of escape.

He dug his talons into his wrists until a bead of blood gathered on his skin, the sharp prick of pain forcing him to turn his thoughts away from darkness.

He curled his tail close to his body, panicking slightly at the overwhelming importance of this moment, that he would never have to set foot in a cave again if he chose to.

Taking a deep breath, of air, rich and overpowering in its freshness, he gazed at the three younglings waiting expectantly for him to take the step into a new beginning.

The half-troll smiled encouragingly, and he carefully stepped onto the welcoming green grass, his feet feeling the soft caress of fertile soil for the first time in centuries.

Overwhelmed, he stood still, taking everything in with wonder, oblivious to the worried conversation between Jim, Toby and Claire on how they would get a feral changeling to the Lake house.

Jim sighed and turned to his girlfriend helplessly, hoping for a solution from her.

Claire shrugged, “We can’t do much about it, if we stick to the forest it should be fine, that way we’ll avoid the main street and avoid spooking him. Let’s just hope Barbara doesn’t freak.”

They both stared at the troll as suddenly he sidled over to Toby, interested in the chubby boy as his braces sparkled in the shadows of the night.

Toby frowned at Jim and Claire, who were watching him intently, small smiles hovering on their lips, he turned around and met a pair of wide yellow eyes.

The changeling had managed to sneak up on him and was now so close Toby could make out individual hairs of the changeling’s ruff of fur.

“Hi.” Toby grinned nervously.

He yelped as with a lightning quick movement the changeling reached over and poked his braces with one talon, tilting his head in awe, captivated.

The changeling continued his inspection, poking the protesting ginger haired boy absolutely everywhere.

And then he began to sniff his pockets.

Toby gave another protesting yelp as the changeling snagged, right out from under his nose, a nougat nummie.

Jim cracked up, laughing into Claire’s shoulder at the audacity of the changeling, who startled slightly at the unexpected sound, before inspecting the sweet, crouching back on his haunches comfortably.

Sniffing it, he gave a low appreciative rumble and popped it into his mouth, wrapper still on, and chewed.

Jim winced, he had tried that too, but he hadn’t been able to enjoy sweets, it just tasted like ash.

So he was surprised when the changeling’s eyes widened to n delight, licking his tusks he edged towards Toby greedily eyeing his pockets.

“Oh no.” Toby said tripping over and sitting down on the ground with a thump, leaning back against a rock as the changeling came forward, sniffing the chubby boy curiously.

“I don’t have anymore.” Toby whispered.

The changeling paused, before sighing heavily and backing off from the human.

Jim opened his mouth, ready to comment on the humiliation his best friend had surely suffered, but Toby glowered fiercely at him, “Not a word to anyone about this, okay? Let’s get home, before I lose it!”

They didn’t have any trouble traversing the forest, with Jim's heightened senses it was pretty easy navigating a path through the forest to his house.

Although the changeling wanted to take it slowly, he wanted to enjoy his new found freedom, but he understood why his saviours wanted to get away from The Prison.

Because that place had only ever given him pain and trapped him for too long against his will, whatever was left of his will anyway.

He was so broken and no longer could remember anything about who he was Before, only flashes of memory that didn’t give him much; sensations, feelings, scents, occasionally images, but nothing substantial.

It was like he was a blank slate, he didn’t even know his own name, everything had been taken from him.

Eventually they came to the end of the forest, a white fence blocking their path, lights visible beyond the flimsy barrier.

The changeling tensed, his breath hitching as he watched the three younglings climb over the fence and disappear from view.

Gathering his courage he fluttered his wings, and fell over the fence with a thud.

When he stood up he was meet with the sight of a oddly built house, he could make out the shapes of other similar houses further out but by the purposeful steps of the chubby human the destination was the house in front of them.

Jim beckoned to him and warily the changeling followed him inside, avidly inspecting his surroundings as Toby collapsed across a sofa with a moan.

The changeling walked further inside, his tail trailing across the floor, the first thing he noticed was the picture hanging from the wall near the door.

He tilted his head at the glass protecting the image and ran his claw down a young boys face, standing next to another slightly older human, same eyes but red hair instead of black.

Jim saw what the changeling was looking at and swallowed nervously, stepping closer to the green skinned troll Jim softly said, “That’s how I used to look, just little more than half a year ago, and that’s my mom.”

He paused and then continued in a whisper, “I got tricked by the wizard Merlin and this is the result of that, I got turned into a half-troll because I thought I had to be more to defeat Gunmar.”

The changeling rumbled uneasily at the name 'Gunmar' it sounded vaguely familiar but nothing came to mind about who he could be.

Shaking his head, the changeling stepped away from the picture and peered around the house more, staring at all the odd appliances in befuddlement.

Toby saw the trolls confusion and came up behind him, causing the changeling to hiss in alarm.

“Whoa, calm down! I think I have an idea. You point at something you don’t know and I’ll tell you what it is, sound fair?”

The changeling nodded gratefully and immediately pointed at mouth.

Toby pouted, of course that would be the first thing he asked about!

“These are braces and they are the bane of my life! You see...”

Claire giggled quietly to Jim, “How long do you think it’ll take before our changeling friend gets bored?”

Jim looked at the changeling thoughtfully, “Oh, I think it will take a while.”

When Barbara arrived home, she had expected Jim, Toby and Claire.

But when she walked into the house and paused to take off her coat she almost had a heart attack at the sight of two yellow glowing eyes peering down at her from the dark staircase.

She took a large step back, clutching her bag tightly.

The eyes began coming closer, until the troll they belonged to came fully into view.

He looked...wild and severely malnourished, his hair ended in a thick ruff of unruly fur that was matted and covered in dust and he had torn wings and a long droopy tail.

She couldn’t explain it, but she felt a instant connection to the strange troll.

Smiling hesitantly Barbara introduced herself, “Hello there, my name is Barbara Lake, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing in my house?”

The trolls eyes darted away and Barbara saw him absently press his long talons into his wrists slightly, she saw lots of thin white scars there, which was really worrying, she opened her mouth about to comment on it but at that moment Jim skidded into the room.

Panting slightly Jim exclaimed in relief, “Finally! I had started to think you’d run off.”

Barbara raised an eyebrow at her son, “Jim who is this?”

“That’s the thing Dr Lake we have no idea and he has no idea.” Toby said as he came into the hallway, followed closely by Claire.

Barbara looked at the stranger in confusion, and he gave a mournful keen.

Claire spared a glance of pity at the changeling, “He has amnesia, no memory of who he is and he can’t talk either.”

Barbara frowned, “Where did you find him?”

The three teens exchanged looks, “Well, we found something. Under Arcadia...” Toby began.

Barbara twisted a lock of her hair in-between her fingers, anxiously thinking about what her son had found under Arcadia and the discovery of the feral changeling who had somehow survived underground, trapped.

And who now sat crouched next to her on the sofas armrest, watching Jim and Toby play chess avidly.

Neither of them were any good at the game but they were bored and had nothing better to do and were still shaken by what they had found in that place.

Chess at least kept their minds off it.

Claire had gone back to her house to help with the changeling familiars and tell her parents where she had been for the whole night.

Claire would obviously have to get used to being a minor again, one who had a curfew and was expected home at a certain time.

Barbara glanced at the changeling out of the corner of her eye, again noticing the scars across his wrists.

Some of them looked more recent than others and some had cut very deep.

It was obvious he had self harmed and in the hours he had been present in the house he had shown intelligence.

She could see how frustrated he was at not being able to express himself and that was frustrating for her too.

He was so broken.

And Barbara would help him.

The changeling knew the half-trolls human mother was watching him, but he pretended not to notice, engrossed in watching the two boys play their game.

He watched Toby move the rook towards the king, and a image flared behind his eyes.

It was of a similar board and a hand, elegant and long fingered, and human, pushing a similar looking rook into the king as well.

A voice rang out, melodious and soft, “Checkmate.”

Disorientated, the changeling came out from the shard of memory, blinking away the image.

He jumped off the sofa, landing on all fours silently, pacing towards the two boys, the woman's gasp falling on deaf ears.

Toby looked up wide eyed in alarm, and just as he was about to declare checkmate, as the changeling reached over and delicately toppled Jim’s king with one claw.

Jim’s jaw dropped in surprise, staring at the changeling, who stared back, one ear flicking in unease.

“You know how to play chess?” Jim asked incredulously.

“Yes.” The changeling rasped, eliciting shocked gasps from Barbara and Toby who hadn’t heard the changeling speak before.

The Jim hesitated, “Do you want to play?” he offered.

The changeling growled eagerly and Jim grinned, good naturedly saying, “I’ve got a feeling you’re going to win”

The changeling raised an brow, clearly sceptical about his chances of winning.

Jim just smiled and offered his hand to shake, and after a brief pause the changeling reached out and grasped it firmly.

The Trollhunter would stand by his promise, he would protect this strange changeling and help him in any way possible.

Because somehow he knew something bad was going to happen soon and he would be essential to it, Jim could feel it.

He just didn’t know when this bad thing was going to happen.


	3. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The changeling gains a memory that triggers a breakdown and a call is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the update took longer! Please leave a comment if you liked this!

Almost 230 years ago...

The mission aught to have been simple, get into Lady Argant’s laboratory to find out what kind of experiments were happening there on the changelings that had been taken and get out.

And if possible rescue their fellow half-breeds that had been captured from almost certainly painful death.

But Lady Argant had been waiting for them and had subdued the small group of changelings, consisting of Nomura, Otto and Stricklander, within seconds.

Stricklander had unwittingly led them straight into a trap, one they may not escape from this time.

Otto stood up peering out of their prison, being very careful not to touch the bars, which was made of iron.

“Ich! We shouldn’t have come here in the first place. Now we will all die!”

Nomura laughed bitterly, “Otto dear, why do you have to be such a pessimist all the time, doesn’t it get boring after a while?”

“Nomura in case you haven’t noticed we’re trapped and the other two changeling’s that are still alive are also trapped. There is no way out.” Stricklander growled.

Nomura smirked at that, her green eyes glowing eerily, “There is a way out... If you happened to bring Dwakstone.”

The two males stared at the magenta changeling in disbelief, Stricklander sat up slightly, staring at Nomura narrowly, “You are not pulling my leg I hope. Otherwise I swear...”

Nomura shook her head, “Of course I’m serious you dumb-ass, why would I make that up?”

“Blow this bloody cage open then!” he demanded impatiently.

Otto quickly backed away from the cage bars, nervously glancing at the dark corridor outside their prison and then at Nomura, “Quickly then!” he hissed.

Nomura sighed, a small smirk playing on her lips, “Ask nicely.”

“NOMURA!” both changelings yelled at the same time.

“Alright, alright I’m doing it.” Nomura muttered, reaching into her belt pocket and withdrawing a dull grey stone, she shook it violently until it glowed bright green and then carefully lobbed it at the iron bars full force.

The stone collided with the metal and exploded, sending pieces of iron flying around, Stricklander flinched as a piece brushed against his side, luckily it wasn’t pure iron.

Ignoring the brief flare of pain he stood up, fingering one of the blades on his cape collar warily.

“Forget about the others, we have to get out of here.” He said anxiously.

Otto turned to him in shock, “Mein fraud you cannot be serious! We came all this way!”

Stricklander flinched guiltily, “We will come back with suitable reinforcements.” He assured the other changeling.

Nomura snorted, “And by then they will be dead.”

Stricklander groaned in defeat, knowing that it was pointless arguing further, “Fine, just be quick, yes? Otherwise I will leave without you.”

Nomura smirked triumphantly and ran towards where they had last seen the other changelings, shortly followed by s loud boom.

There was a loud exclamation of anger at that, one that seemed to surround Stricklander, the witch knew they had escaped now.

He exchanged a terrified glance with Otto just as Nomura came barrelling back to them with Boer, a dusty yellow changeling, with light brown deposits of stone skin around his eyes and Rose, a red changeling with a long tail.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Stricklander growled.

It was just as they had almost reached the exit that they ran into Lady Argant.

Rose and Boer had already escaped out of the laboratory and Otto was almost to the exit as well, with Stricklander and Nomura following close behind.  
And then a blast of magic knocked into Stricklander, blowing him off his feet.

Nomura stopped and ran back to him, grasping the older changeling by the arm roughly and heaving him upright.

“Go, I’m right behind you.” Stricklander said.

Nomura gave him a small smile before sprinting for the tunnel leading up to the surface.

He sighed, he knew that if they all tried to escape none of them would survive, Lady Argant would pursue them and then kill them one by one.

Unless he stopped her from giving chase.

Stricklander ran after Nomura and slammed the gate shut behind her, the iron burning his hands as he quickly took one of his knives and jammed it into the key hole, effectively trapping himself inside and Nomura and the others outside.

Nomura turned around, startled, her eyes slowly widening as she realised what he had done.

“What are you doing?” she cried.

“Saving you! Get out of here!” Stricklander ordered.

Nomura narrowed her eyes, “No! I’m not letting you be a self sacrificing idiot!”

She tried to dislodge the knife in the key hole but the pain of the iron caused her to flinch away with a growl.  
Stricklander turned away as Nomura tried to get back to him, her howls of anger causing Otto to come back into the corridor, and with a pained look of understanding towards Stricklander drag Nomura away to safety.

Stricklander sighed in momentary relief, as the witch finally came into view, white as bone, wearing rags and black hair waving in coils about her head.

He stood up straighter, “ Let the others go.” He said firmly.

Lady Argant laughed cruelly, “Oh lovely, why would I do that?”

“Because they are useless, you won’t gain anything from killing them."

Lady Argant gazed at him in amusement, “If you insist on being so noble. Who knew a changeling would have it in them! And how naïve. You should have run while you could, because once I’m through with you you’ll wish you were dead.”

Lady Argant’s eyes lit up, red and menacing as she smiled, Stricklander shuddered in horror as she edged closer and closer....

He woke up, shuddering, eyes clenched firmly closed as the memory fled him.

He had flashbacks but he could never remember them when he woke up, they became as insubstantial as dreams, the more he tried to grasp them the further away they got.

What was seared into his mind was the image of another changeling, magenta with long black hair.  
It wasn’t the first time she had appeared in his mind, but like he himself she remained nameless.

Shaking slightly the changeling cracked open his eyes and almost yelled at the sight that met him, filling him with guilt and dismay.

Barbara and Jim stumbled out of their rooms at the sound of banging and crashing coming from downstairs where they had left the changeling and Barbara inwardly winced.

Perhaps it had been a bad idea leaving the changeling alone.

Both Jim and Barbara had thought based on the changeling’s behaviour, he would be fine downstairs sleeping on the couch.

It was clear he was intelligent and not nearly as feral as Jim had at first thought, based on the fact he had been trapped underground for the last few centuries.  
But coming downstairs assured Jim that the changeling was still wild and unpredictable.

The couch lay on its side , badly scratched up and torn, the stuffing literally everywhere.

Pictures that had hung on the walls lay on the floor, the glass shattered in broken shards, the lights were still intact though, but the bookshelf’s had been overturned the books still in one piece, splayed out on the carpet.

The changeling sat crouched among this mess, his ears pressed firmly flat against his skull.  
He looked up guiltily at the arrival of Jim and Barbara, regret and shame radiating out from him in waves.

Jim started forward, about to say something about the mess but his mom stopped him with a hand on the shoulder, “Jim... I’ll deal with this.”

The half-troll blinked, and then shrugged and backed away slightly as Barbara quietly approached the changeling, crouching so she was level with his eyes.  
He looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise as she said softly, “Its not your fault, can you tell us what happened?”

The changeling growled, shaking his head in disgust and pointing at his mouth in a way that implied he wanted to tell them but couldn’t talk.

Barbara frowned, “Can you still write?”

The changeling hesitantly nodded with a small grimace at the fact he could have written on something before in order to explain a few things.

“Jim can you please get some paper and a pen?” Barbara asked softly.

“Sure.” Jim said and turned briskly, jogging up the stairs quickly.

When he came back into the room with lined paper and a ball point pen Barbara and the changeling were still in the same position, his mom whispering reassurances while the changeling listened intently.

Jim came over to them, sitting opposite his mom, the changeling staring curiously at the pen Jim offered before taking it and the paper.

He didn’t care about the oddness of the materials as long as he could express himself in a way the humans could understand.

The changeling turned the pen in his hand, wondering how to use it, he clicked the top down and the tip revealed itself, smiling faintly the changeling pressed it to the paper and dragged it across the page, a black line appearing on it smoothly.

He touched it with a finger to find it was already dry.  
Obviously even simple things like pens and paper had significantly improved along with everything else.  
He would have to talk to the chubby boy Toby further to discuss the advancements in this time.

Jim’s voice broke him out of his inward musings; “Please tell me you can write.”

The changeling grasped the pen more firmly in his hand, even though he couldn’t remember his past, Lady Argant had wanted him to take notes and record some of her other experiments and for that he still retained the ability to read and write.

He nodded at Jim, one ear flicking impatiently, waiting for Jim to start asking questions about the destroyed room and feeling guilty again.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Barbara asked.

The changeling hesitated, tail flicking agitatedly he slowly wrote in a still elegant and cursive script, “I had a flashback. The memory got me upset. Sorry.” 

Barbara impulsively rested her hand on his, the changeling looking up at her in surprise at the contact.

“You don’t have to apologise, can you remember anything? Or anyone maybe?” she asked.

The changeling hesitated, glancing around at the wrecked room with a 'shouldn’t this be sorted out first?’ kind of look.

Jim raised one eyebrow, “Dude, you’re not getting out of this that easily, do you remember anything or not?”

The changeling lowered his eyes and wrote, “Another changeling. Pink, long black hair, green eyes, twin scythes...”

Barbara and Jim exchanged startled looks of comprehension, immediately reminded of a certain someone who met that description perfectly.  
“Nomura.” Jim stated, almost a hundred percent certain of it.

The changeling nodded eagerly, the name familiar and comfortable to him, that was her name, he just knew it.

What he wrote next was rough and straight to the point, “You know her?”

“Oh yeah, we’re... friends.” Jim said with a wince.

Barbara gasped, “Wait. If you know Nomura she would know you, and your name at least!”

The changeling’s golden eyes danced at that, although he wouldn’t hope for anything to come of it, only wish with all his heart to regain a semblance of a identity.  
Jim immediately took his phone out to call Nomura, yelping as the changeling curiously pushed his face near the screen, tilting his head to one side, evidently curious.

“I guess you want to know what this is?” Jim said in bemusement.

The changeling nodded, eyes glued to the phone screen as Jim tapped on it, the screen flaring to life and displaying an old picture of him and Claire hugging each other and laughing.

He should probably change it, as it was a constant reminder of Before, when he was still an almost normal teenager, back when he had been human.

The changeling rumbled sympathetically and to divert the half-troll from his gloom expectantly tapped the screen of Jim’s phone.

Jim shook himself, “Oh, right. So, this is a phone, most people own one, we use them to make calls, text and watch things on YouTube for example and read memes and other rubbish you don’t need to know about. So I’m going to call Nomura and see what she says.” Jim explained.

The changeling have a hopeful keen, eagerly watching as the young human/troll hybrid tapped on a button labelled 'contacts'.

Was it magic that allowed Jim to navigate this 'phone' with but a simple touch?

Fascinated, he leaned closer as Jim scrolled down his contacts, until he stopped at the correct one, it was simply labelled, 'Miss Nomura' but that hadn’t been the original label, he’d had to change it when his mom had seen how inappropriate it was and demanded him to change it.

He tapped the call button, putting it on loud speaker, the changeling jumping at the sudden noise, bristling, until Barbara reassuringly squeezed his hand.

That was the second time she had done that.

The phone rang several times before their was a click and the prickly, gravelly voice of Nomura spoke curtly, “What do you want? I’m trying to relax here Little Gynt.” 

“Hey Nomura... I need your help... badly.” Jim added nervously, glancing at the changeling fugitively.

Nomura paused then silkily said, “Ah. So you finally have the gronk-nuts to have sex with Claire, and hope for some advice.”

Jim yelled, absolutely mortified, risking a glance at his mom who had gone slightly red at the blunt statement.

The changeling’s look of dawning realisation did not help matters either, “No Nomura! I’m way to young for that! This is about a changeling I found in Arcadia.”

Another slightly more lengthy pause, then; “Alive?”

“Yes. Although he’s not from the Janus order, he’s... different. He doesn’t even remember his name and I thought you could maybe come here and check him out, see if you recognize him?” Jim held his breath expectantly, almost believing Nomura would hang up.

Instead she grunted, “I will come. It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

“Thanks Nomura, I owe you one.” Jim sighed in relief.

Nomura scoffed, “We’re talking about another changeling who’s alive still, thank you Little Gynt.”

Jim gave a small laugh, “Ok, see you soon.”

Nomura chuckled softly, “I’m looking forward to telling Blinky you’ve already gotten yourself into a new mess.”

Jim gave a protesting yelp, “NOMURA!”

But she had already hung up.


	4. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nomura is reunited with someone she thought was dead and gives the changeling his name and Claire starts acting strangely...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I haven't been posting on this story, hope you enjoy and please leave a comment, it's really appreciated!

Nomura didn’t really know what she was getting into when she agreed to come back to Arcadia, to try and identify a changeling the Trollhunters had found underground.

All she knew was she was already tense from fighting zombified Gumm-Gumm’s in the ruins of heartstone Trollmarket after a rough gyre trip and wasn’t ready for a half feral changeling.

Who might turn out to be completely unrecognisable, there were, _had,_ been so many changelings in the Janus Order it was impossible to know all of them.

If he was higher ranking she may be able to at least give him a name, if not she would humour Little Gynt and see where this went.

Anything really to get away from the trolls in New Jersey, even Blinky couldn’t convince trolls to change their views on changelings within a few months. Nomura finally reached the back door of the lake house, carefully stepping inside she called out, “Trollhunter, I’m here!”

There was a scuffling sound from the kitchen and Nomura frowned, taking a small step in the direction of where the sound had come from. She almost jumped when Jim’s fluffy head suddenly popped into view, a spoon disappearing from his mouth. He looked up at her guiltily, “Hey Nomura! Please don’t tell mom I ate another spoon, It was an accident.”

Nomura raised a brow sceptically, “Metal is good for you, it’s rich in minerals and helps with bone growth, there is nothing to be ashamed of Little Gynt.”

Jim sighed, “I know, that’s literally what everyone keeps on telling me, but it’s still weird. Although Tobes thinks it’s cool.” 

Nomura grinned, “Speaking of chubby, where is he? I would have thought he’d be glued to you.”

Jim frowned at her as he jumped easily over the kitchen counter top, “Don’t call Toby that! He’s upstairs with Claire, trying to coax the changeling downstairs. He had some sorta flashback again and now he won’t come down from mom’s room. You’re welcome to try and get him here, I’ll just call Toby and Claire.” And with that Jim bounded for the staircase.

Nomura assumed that Dr Lake was at work, since she clearly wasn’t home, which was excellent as she didn’t like Nomura. Perhaps she could get back to New Jersey without even seeing the woman.

She was shaken out of her thoughts with the arrival of Jim, Toby and Claire coming down the stairs.

Claire smiled at her and it sent shivers down Nomura’s spine, for a second there was something cold and ancient in the girl’s eyes that didn’t fit her. It reminded Nomura of when Claire had been possessed by Morgana.

Uneasy, she fingered the handle of one of her scythes and then Claire shook her head and said with a weak smile, “Hi Nomura, it’s good to see you, although I think I’m going home, my head really is killing me.”

Jim frowned, gently tucking Claire against his side protectively, “I did say you should go home and rest.” 

Claire pushed him away gently, “I thought I could manage it but apparently not.”

Toby groaned, stretching his arms in the air, “Claire, it’s fine, go rest. Let _her_ deal with that stubborn changeling.” He jerked his thumb at Nomura, who gave a low growl.

“Nice to see you too, chubby.” Nomura replied sarcastically. 

Toby narrowed his eyes at her, “You can be very annoying, if you don’t want to be here you’re welcome to leave.”

Nomura scoffed, “I don’t have time for this, the changeling is upstairs in your mom’s room, right?” 

Jim nodded, “Yeah he is. Good luck with him!” he called as Nomura made for the stairs within a few short steps, her hooves lightly clattering on the wooden floor below her. 

She climbed upstairs quickly, walking carefully into Barbara’s room.

She scanned the place curiously, it was sparsely furnished with a double bed, wardrobe and a wooden cabinet with framed pictures of Jim with his mom.

What really caught her attention was the figure facing away from her on the floor near the window. He sat hunched into a ball, his long tufted tail wrapped close to his body. He was green and had backwards facing horns, but what made her eyes widen were the black wings sprouting from his shoulders, tucked in close to his quivering body.

Nomura's heart sunk, he wasn’t anyone she recognised, no changeling she had known had wings.

Jim had warned her on the phone last night that the changeling still retained intelligence and wouldn’t appreciate being patronised, although he couldn’t speak and didn’t remember anything about himself. “Hey, stop moping in that corner, I can’t see you properly.” Nomura demanded impulsively.

The changelings skinny shoulders tensed and he gave a low snarl, his wings tucking in even closer to his body.

Nomura softened her voice, “Look, I’m Jim’s friend, I only want to see if I can recognise you and then I’ll leave you to your moping.” 

The changeling huffed a sigh and miserably got up from the floor, turning mournful yellow eyes on her curiously.

Nomura almost fainted, stumbling back and colliding with the cabinet with a screech of stone and metal on wood, one of the framed photographs falling to the floor with a smash as the glass in the frame shattered.

Nomura winced, but didn’t take her eyes off the changeling standing in front of her, who was looking at her nervously.

She would recognise that face anywhere, even after over 200 years. She covered her mouth with her hands, eyes slightly glazed in disbelief, “I thought you were dead-all this time and-and you’re alive!” she whispered huskily.

The changeling, _Strickler_ _,_ she corrected herself, even with all the alterations and additions to his body, even without any memory of who she even was, the way he stood there, one brow raised in bemusement at her reaction, was so... _him._

She took a wobbly step forward, “You don’t- you don’t remember me, do you?” she choked out in a whisper sadly.

There was no recognition in his eyes, but he seemed saddened at that statement as he gave a small keen, shaking his head. 

He opened his mouth as if about to say something but nothing came out except a frustrated snarl of anger. He shook his head again, taking a step back, his tail flicking in agitation, eyes dilating to almost consume the yellow of his sclera.

Nomura swore under her breath, Strickler’s frustration was understandable but he was losing control of himself.

Desperately, Nomura grasped him by the shoulders, “Strickler focus, please!” she barked, “Stay with me, alright?”

Strickler stared at her mutely, eyes wide, before hesitantly nodding. He slowly pointed to himself with a small frown, before pointing at Nomura hopefully, who gazed at him in confusion and then she gussed what he was asking.

“You want to know if that’s your name right?” she asked. Strickler gave a small nod, tilting his head at her expectantly.

Nomura took a deep breath in, the surreality of what was happening making her dizzy. This was really happening, Strickler was really here and this was really him. And she would do all she could to help Strickler, because she wasn’t leaving him.

“Your full name is Waltholomew Stricklander, but you went by Walter Strickler most of the time I knew you.” Nomura rasped out slowly.

Strickler relaxed, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders at the regaining of his name, he stood taller, his eyes sparkling thankfully. He moved forward purposefully and Nomura was about to move out of his way, thinking he was ready to go downstairs but was surprised when Strickler did something completely unexpected.

He hugged her.

His wings wrapped around her body and he rested his head against her shoulder, even his tail hugged her, twinning around Nomura’s leg.

She froze, unsure what to make of this, the Strickler she had known had never hugged her, not since they’d both been young whelps stuck in the Darklands.

But she was too overwhelmed to push him away, not after hundreds of years thinking him dead, this was still Strickler after all.

She relaxed against him, nuzzling the side of his neck, not caring about the thick tangles of greyish white fur that covered his shoulders and just breathed in his scent. It was still Strickler's, just older and slightly hidden by hundred year old filth.

“You really need to wash.” Nomura said, muffled somewhat by Strickler’s scruff.

That statement managed to coax a small laugh out of him. Nomura smiled, finally hugging Strickler back, she closed her eyes, wanting this moment to last forever.

Jim sighed, leaning his head back on the sofa to stare at the ceiling, absently picking at one tusk, “What’s taking her so long?” he mumbled grouchily, it had been almost half an hour already.

Claire also sighed and muttered something so quietly even Jim didn’t hear, Toby looked over at her suspiciously, “Did you say something?”

Claire shook her head, “No Tobias, I didn’t.”

Toby and Jim gave her a weird look, “You never call me by my full name.” Toby said with a frown.

Claire blushed, “I really must be tired if I can’t even remember what I call you.” She joked.

Jim groaned, “Claire, you need to go home and sleep.” He said firmly.

She nodded reluctantly, “You’re right, I haven’t felt like myself for a while, see you guys later. Tell me what happens with that im-changeling. I really want to know if Nomura recognises him.” 

She kissed Jim on the cheek quickly and left out of the front door.

Toby looked over at Jim, “Was it just me, or was that a little weird.”

Jim frowned, “It wasn’t just you, she even-.”

The half-troll was interrupted by Nomura coming into the living room with an odd expression on her face, with the changeling trailing behind her quite calmly.

“Little Gynt, I have to say this is probably the greatest gift you could ever have given me.” She stated gravely. 

Jim shook his head slowly in confusion, “I don’t understand.”

Nomura gestured to the changeling, “Allow me to introduce you to Walter Strickler, former head of the Janus Order and my nestmate. Although you don’t remember any of that.” Nomura said ruefully to Strickler, who shrugged helplessly. 

Jim and Toby’s jaws dropped. “Whaaaat? Are you sure he lead the Janus Order? He doesn’t look very menacing. Also what is a nestmate?” the chubby boy asked curiously.

Nomura scoffed, “How can you not know? Didn’t NotEnrique tell you anything about changelings? I can’t believe-.” She was stopped by Strickler placing one hand warningly on her shoulder.

“Okay, sorry. A nestmate is like a sibling I suppose, we’re raised together in the Darklands until we are sent topside and we tend to have a bond with them for the rest of our lives. Even though we still wouldn’t hesitate to throw them under the bus if it came to it.” Nomura finished with a smirk.

Jim nodded, “OK, that leaves only one question, what do you want us to call you?” 

This was addressed to Strickler, who gave an annoyed growl, pointing to his mouth with exaggerated emphasis.

Jim face palmed, “I completely forgot about that! Nod for first name, shake for last.” He eventually settled on saying.

Strickler didn’t hesitate, he shook his head, he just knew that he went by last rather than his first name. It was a feeling of certainty.

Jim grinned, “Well, it’s nice to finally be able to address you by name, Strickler.” The winged changeling grinned back, things seemed to be looking up.

He had safety, had found a sister and his name. 

He couldn’t really ask for more.


	5. Possession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strickler accostums himself to the Lake house and Claire's odd behaviour leads to him reacting with unforseen conseqenses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very on the nose title as I couldn't think think of anything else. Hope you enjoy!

The next few weeks are overwhelming to say the least for Strickler.

Nomura decided rather firmly she would stay in Arcadia until Jim and Claire left, in order to spend time with him. And insisted on moving him into the basement as it was more secluded.

Strickler didn’t see the point in protesting, especially as Nomura was right, he felt a lot more secure within the smaller space.

Jim however didn’t really think his mom would approve of Nomura’s presence, since the whole Angor Rot and binding spell thing hadn’t made Barbara exactly _like_ the magenta changeling.

When she finally came back from work it didn’t take long to get her up to date with what had happened while she wasn’t in the house.

Barbara had thanked Jim and asked him if she could have a word with Nomura alone. Jim had been only to glad to escape the room. 

So now it was just the three of them.

Barbara spoke first to Nomura, “As long as you don’t cause any trouble and promise to look after Walter I don’t see why you can’t stay for a while.”

Strickler wasn’t surprised that the human woman would call him by his first name, but it was still weird after all this time finally being able to go by something other than 'the changeling'.

Nomura smiled, “Thank you Dr Lake, I promise I won’t cause you any problems, it will be like I’m not even here.”

Strickler zoned out of the conversation, slumping back and giving a sigh of relief at the heavenly softness of this 'sofa'. It was absolutely incredible how advanced humans had gotten while he had been trapped underground.

He spread his wings out, the membranes stretching over Nomura, who froze, her green eyes wide.

She stared openly, Strickler hadn’t had wings before, of that she was almost certain.

Hesitantly, she reached out a hand and touched it, marvelling at the leather like texture.

Only for Strickler to withdraw from her as if he had been electrocuted with a low hiss, the ruff of fur covering his shoulders bristling as he backed away to perch on the arm of the sofa, his claws gauging the soft material.

Nomura and Barbara blinked in astonishment at how quickly the changeling had gone from relaxed to terrified.

Nomura gave a small groan of dismay at her mistake, “Look you didn’t have wings or a tail before, I was just curious.”

Strickler’s response was a rough snarl and flaring his wings out with a leathery snap.

Barbara spoke to him steadily, not at all alarmed after dealing with Jim’s occasional fits, “Its alright Walter, if you’re not ready to be touched we will respect that. I understand you’ve been through a lot, we can wait until you’re comfortable.”

Here she shot a warning look at Nomura, who threw her hands up in the air with a scowl, “Fine, it’s not like I’d force myself on him, changelings aren’t really touchy-feely to begin with.” 

Strickler hesitated from his perch, this woman was infuriating. 

She was almost fearless, even though she was the weakest in the room with her soft skin, and strong willed yet still warm and understanding.

Relaxing slightly, he carefully maneuvered himself back into the seat, this time keeping all his limbs firmly by his side’s to prevent Nomura trying to touch anything else.

Over time Strickler began to slowly lose his edge of wariness around the Lake house, although he kept his interactions limited mainly to Barbara, Jim and Nomura.

The fat boy, Toby was too loud and the massive troll that followed him around made Strickler uneasy.

It was Barbara that drew his attention the most though, even if he had no clue why.

She was at first startled when he began to shadow her in the house, silently just being present wherever Barbara was.

But this encouraged her to start asking him questions.

It started with just yes and no questions but then more complicated ones about what had happened to him while he was underground.

At first he ignored these, usually by distancing himself from her as it too painful to try and put into words, even if they were on paper.

But eventually he caved in, desperate to tell someone what he had suffered, if only to get rid of the pain of being the only one to know what had been done to him.

It helped that Barbara was very understanding and never pushed him for more information, even if she wanted to ask more.

What Lady Argant had done to him was beyond torture, she had sought to remake him, adding to him physically and mentally.

Which lead to him having stores of magic wound into his very essence, making him sensitive to all magic, to the point he started to be able to wield it for himself, unbeknownst to the witch.

It was nothing compared to Lady Argant's power but she made the mistake of underestimating him and that had been enough to destroy her weak mortal host, which was nothing more than a animated corpse.

His sensitivity to magic meant he kept away from Claire, as he could sense powerful dark magic stains all over her. 

He explained all this as clearly as possible to Barbara on paper but it was hard for the doctor to get her head around.

To the point Strickler got frustrated enough to demonstrate his magic to her.

He knew it looked quite unsettling and it may scare Barbara away for good, but he couldn’t think of any other way to convince her. 

He closed his eyes and let the energy flow through his engravings, hearing Barbara gasp as the markings began to glow a purplish-black.

He opened his eyes and watched in some amusement as Barbara tentatively waved her hand in front of his face.

Using what limited magic he could wield made his eyes go completely white, but he could still see.

Gently, he caught Barbara’s hand and lowered it with a small rumble of amusement. The red haired woman blushed, “Sorry about that. Does this always happen when you use magic?”

Strickler nodded, raising his free hand, as his other one still rested on top of Barbara’s, he summoned a heatless black flame.

Barbara gave a soft gasp and carefully touched the flame with one finger, marvelling at the fact the flame wasn’t hot.

And it was at that moment Nomura entered the room, openly gaping in horror at the pulsing black lines covering Strickler’s markings.

“What are you doing?” she snarled in disbelief.

Startled, Strickler’s concentration broke and the magic dissipated away.

“Nomura it’s alright, Walter was just showing me his magic as I didn’t really believe him.” Barbara said hurriedly.

Nomura frowned, “Don’t ask him to use it again, that’s dark magic you don’t know what it’s doing to him.”

Strickler grimaced, he knew his limitations, Nomura did not, although he was grateful she cared about him.

Strickler had just started to get used to being surrounded by other people and was finally confident around the Lake house when it happened.

He came upstairs from the basement like he did everyday, causously surveying the room to see who was present before entering.

It was quite crowded, Jim, Claire, Barbara and Nomura were present. 

He stepped into the room slowly, and couldn’t stop himself backing away with an uneasy growl as Claire got up and approached him. 

She smiled, everything about it wrong, as she whispered to him, “Finally she gave in. Now we’re both together again.”

And then something wormed it’s way into his mind to hiss threateningly, “ _You will pay for destroying my old body traitorous impure.”_

Strickler recoiled from her with a snarl, he would recognise Lady Argant’s raspy voice anywhere.

No wonder he had felt jumpy around Claire, she was being possessed!

Immediately his magic burst into being, drawing startled gasps from the others in the room, his runes glowing black as with inhumanly fast speed he grasped Claire by the neck, pushing her body against the wall. 

As gently as possible he bound her to the wall with a quick mental incantation that burned golden runes into the wall behind her head. 

He heard several surprised cries from behind him and for not the first time wished desperately he could speak, as right now he probably seemed insane.

Jim leapt up from the sofa, his armour clanging into place as he yelled angrily, “Let Claire go!”

Nomura also stood up, drawing her scythes with a rasp of metal on metal, “I thought things were going well.” She growled sadly, staring determinedly at Strickler’s glowing white eyes, this wasn’t him, she was unsure if he ever had been really, since she She had arrived here.

She tensed, ready to do what must be done to save Claire, Jim and Nomura stepped forward together. 

And they both froze as Barbara shouted forcefully, “Wait! Don’t do anything. Walter!” 

He jerked his tail in response as he was using all his energy trying to mentally call to Claire, searching for a spark of the girl not being lost yet.

Barbara meanwhile took a step towards Strickler and asked, despite Jim and Nomura trying to keep her back, “She isn’t herself is she?”

Strickler managed a shaky nod, still searching for Claire, although he was rapidly losing energy.

Lady Argant’s voice cackled maliciously within his mind, _“You will never free her, the girls body is mine!”_

He ignored the raspy voice echoing inside his head and ignored the fuss going on behind him, focused entirely on reaching Claire’s submerged conscious.

“Mom, how can you believe him? Look at what he’s doing!” Jim snarled, his ears flicking unhappily.

“Just wait, kiddo. If he hurts her then and only then can you- attack him.” Barbara choked out.

She had started to generally like Walter and knew he wouldn’t hurt Claire, at least not intentionally.

And she desperately wanted to explore whatever was growing between them.

Jim growled, “OK. But if he touches her I’m going to stop Strickler whether you say so or not. Because right now he doesn’t look like he’s in control.” 

Strickler was about to give up when he finally heard a faint mutter from Claire’s mind, “ _Who’s there? Stay away! I don’t want you in my head!”_

He winced as a powerful wave of magic attempted to swamp him away, but he managed to think back to her, “ _It’s alright. I’m going to help you. I just need to enter your mind and destroy the trespasser.”_

Lady Argant didn’t like that at all, she knew if that happened she wouldn’t stand a chance, weakened as she was with so long without a body.

She made Claire’s body shake around, attempting to throw the changeling off her, making the girl’s hands try and claw Strickler’s eyes.

He lifted his face away as Claire replied faintly _, “Who are you?”_

Strickler sent her a mental picture of him, _“Remember me?”_ he asked.

Claire responded by showing him an image of herself, Jim, Toby and Strickler outside the ruin. _“Yeah, I do. Just get her out!”_ At that Strickler felt Claire open a small gap for him to enter her mind.

And Lady Argant screamed out loud, through Claire’s voice causing Jim to immediately spring forward with a shout.

Barbara paling in fear as her son knocked into Strickler and Claire with an explosion of gold, blue and black magic.

They all tumbled to the floor, the bonds holding Claire in place dissolving as Strickler’s focus was lost.

Desperately he clung to Claire’s mind, catching Jim’s as well in his confusion.

All he could do was snarl in frustration as he blacked out, hearing Jim murmur softly, “What have you done?”


	6. Retrieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strickler and Jim embark on a journey in Claire's mind to free her from Lady Argant and destroy her once and for all.

Strickler came back into awareness only to be completely submerged in memories.

Images flashed behind his eyes in rapid succession, faces that he now could immediately recognise, places and journey’s he had taken, deaths and fights, the Janus Order.

All of it was suddenly, overwhelmingly, present in his mind, to the point his head felt like it would explode.

He drew in a shocked gasp of breath, whimpering at the pressure in his head at unexpectedly regaining his memories.

He knew how all this mess had come about, the images of that night were bright and crisp.

Some part of his mind was pathetically thinking about the fact he had wings and a tail and hadn’t taken a bath in a very long time.

Not to mention the fact his claws, horns and scruff needed major attention to make him look somewhat presentable.

But the main thing on his mind was the relief of having everything that made him, well _him,_ back. 

Somehow Jim’s interference with him entering Claire’s mind, coupled with Lady Argant’s presence, had dislodged the barrier within his mind that had locked his memories away.

Although he was unsure if this was just temporary while he was in Claire’s mind.

Slowly his heart rate returned to normal as he calmed down, the initial shock of regaining his memories considerably less. Finally he opened his eyes. 

He was on his back, which should be impossible with his horns in the way. He frowned up at the purplish light around him before slowly sitting up, with a groan he rubbed his temples gingerly.

And froze when he lowered his hand.

It wasn’t clawed or stone skinned but human and fleshy and outlined in a soft green light.

Strickler quickly felt his face, no horns, no tusks.

He gasped suddenly dizzy. First his regaining of memory and now this!

If he was to assume anything the reason for him appearing human was simply because it was a subconscious thought, he had preferred his human form in the past and this wasn’t actually real, it was a mental projection into Claire’s mind.

The only question was, were was Jim? 

Because he definitely remembered that the teen had been dragged into Claire’s mind with him.

Strickler stumbled to his feet, swaying for a moment as he was unaccustomed to being human for the last two hundred or so years and had gotten used to the balance provided by wings and a tail.

He immediately spotted the young Trollhunter lying a short distance away in a patch of lilac mist, his outline glowing faintly blue.

Causously, Strickler approached Jim, exclaiming in surprise at the fact the boy was also human. He knelt by Jim’s side and gently shook his shoulder, “Wake up Trollhunter, we don’t have much time.” 

The words flowed easily and Strickler wasn’t surprised, just relieved.

Because he was mentally projecting thoughts into words, not actually speaking. But at least he could finally talk to his rescuer.

Jim groaned and blearily opened his blue eyes. To see a unfamiliar face peering down at him worriedly.

Jim yelped and scrambled back and the stranger raised his hands to show Jim he meant no harm. 

He looked be in his early 50’s, with styled black and grey hair and piercing green eyes. The weird thing was his whole body was faintly glowing green and he was wearing seriously outdated clothes, a black suit that seemed to be from Shakespearian times.

“Where-who are you?” Jim demanded shakily.

The stranger sighed, a smile glinting in his eyes, “Nomura already told you, I can’t believe you have already forgotten.”

Jim’s eyes widened, partly at what this man had said and party because he had realised his hand was human and outlined in glowing blue.

“Holy heck, I’m dead aren’t I?” he moaned.

The man shook his head in amusement, “Afraid not Jim. We are inside Claire’s mind and the reason we’re human is simply because we favoured these forms.” At this, Strickler absently fiddled with his cufflinks, nervous as to how Jim would react.

The boy blinked slowly, processing what he had heard and what surrounded him. Purple mist that stretched as far as the eye could see, shadowed here and there with darker patches. 

Jim turned his eyes back on the man waiting patiently in front of him, who was regarding him with bemusement. “Strickler. It’s really you, isn’t it?” Jim whispered in disbelief. 

Strickler managed a lopsided smile, “Yes, it is. At least I can tell you that Claire wasn’t the one to call for you, that was Lady Argant’s doing.”

Jim shuddered at the mention of that name, guiltily stating, “I’m so sorry, I thought you’d completely lost it when you grabbed Claire but mom was right, you were only trying to save her.” 

Strickler hesitated, before saying quietly, “It was a natural reaction. I cannot ever repay you for getting me out of those ruins and if you had not interfered I may not have regained my memories.” 

Jim gaped at him, slack jawed in surprise, “You’ve got your memories back!? That’s- great!”

Strickler really smiled then, “I know, hopefully I will keep them this time when we confront the witch.”

Jim frowned, “Er, how are we going to find anything in here? When Nomura exorcised Claire it was a bit more straight forward- more the less.”

Strickler in response hummed thoughtfully, “If she has previously been possessed that explains why Lady Argant could get inside her so easily. Did Nomura by any chance have the book of Ga-Huel? I remember I used to have it in my possession before-you know.”

Jim grimaced in sympathy and said slowly, “She did use that book actually. We don’t need it-do we?” 

Strickler shook his head with a small grin, “No, but I did not even remember who I was, let alone if I used to own a magical book on Gumm-Gumm history.”

Jim couldn’t help but laugh, “Well I’m really glad you’ve got your memories back and that we get to be human for a little while.” He added with a smile.

Strickler narrowed his eyes, standing up slowly, “We had better get moving if we want to save Claire.”

Jim nodded as Strickler offered a hand down to him, he took it gladly, determination lighting up in his eyes, “Let’s get Claire back.” 

It seemed like hours had passed before anything changed in the eerie purple mist shrouded surroundings.

A dark tunnel appeared in front of them, pulsing gently with dark energy. Strickler and Jim exchanged grave looks. “Please don’t tell me we have to go inside that.” Jim muttered. 

Strickler sighed, placing one hand reassuringly on the young Trollhunters shoulder, “I have entered minds before, there is nothing to be afraid of. Trust me.”

Jim hesitated, he still knew next to nothing about this man and yet there was something about him that made Jim feel relaxed and safe. “Alright, let’s go.” Jim said, taking a determined step forward into the tunnel, Strickler following close behind him. 

What awaited them was nothing like Jim could ever have imagined.

A vast arena like place that glowed a dark purple almost black colour, full of bouncing balls of light that gently floated around, each spark containing small scenes from Claire’s life, like small moving memories. 

Jim gently touched one in awe, as it burst into the sound of laughter as a baby Claire was tickled by her mom.

However some of these lights were going slowly grey, Jim glanced at Strickler, but he was focused on the sphere in the centre of the arena. A large bubble sat on the 'floor' and floating inside was Claire.

Jim opened his mouth about to shout his girlfriend’s name but was stopped by Strickler’s voice speaking in his mind, _“Don’t speak aloud for now, Lady Argant will be close. We need to get rid of that bubble and then she will be able to take her mind back._ ”

Jim causously nodded and Strickler gave him a brief smile before slowly approaching the transparent bubble. 

Jim reached out a hand, gently placing it on the smooth surface, sending ripples across the sphere, “ _Claire!”_ Jim mentally shouted at the sight of her limp body hanging eerily in the air. 

Strickler gave a mental sigh, making Jim jump in surprise, “ _She cannot hear you. I will remove the bubble, you keep watch for Argant.”_

Jim nodded wordlessly, keeping one eye warily on the surroundings behind them and the other curiously on Strickler as the changeling placed both hands on the bubble and began to incant in some foreign language, the sounds rich and resonant in Jim’s head.

Strickler’s hands started to glow gold and then even his eyes, slowly, inch by inch the barrier lowered.

And then Jim saw something that sent shivers of revulsion down his spine, a skeletal figure had detached itself from the shadows.

It screeched when it saw them, “She is mine!”

Strickler gave a small grunt, tearing his eyes away from the transparent cage Claire was trapped within to shout to Jim aloud, “Stop her coming anywhere closer by any means necessary!”

Jim responded by calling out, “For the glory of Merlin Daylight is mine to command!” The armour immediately materialized around his body as he charged forward with a barrel cry.

While Jim fended of the spectral witch, Strickler put all his energy into tearing down the barrier.

Back when he had been under Lady Argant’s enthrallment she had forced him to enter her other experiments minds, this hadn’t actually required him to use magic as the witch inserted his mind into the unfortunate soul forcefully.

This was so he could worm out key memories for Lady Argant to destroy, making the subject easier to control and break. 

What he was doing now was the opposite.

He willed himself to push harder and with a sharp cry finally broke through the bubble with a booming pop of golden magic. He collapsed to his knees, exhausted, hearing Lady Argant wail in disbelieving anger.

Claire stirred and cracked her eyes open, her body gently settling to the floor as purple light slowly suffused her outline, when before it had been almost grey. “I can’t believe I got possessed, again!” she exclaimed, her eyes burning furiously.

And then she noticed the tired looking man resting on his knees in front of her. 

Weakly she sat up, rubbing her head absently, just as the man raised his head, his eyes glowing completely gold.

Claire yelped, attempting to stand and almost fell if not for the sudden support of the stranger with the glowing eyes. Strickler carefully got one of Claire’s arms over his shoulder, _“It’s alright Claire, you are safe now.”_ He said softly into the girls mind.

Claire blinked, “Strickler?” she muttered blearily at the man supporting her.

“Yes.” He confirmed and before he could say anything else, Jim cried out suddenly, “Strickler! I little help here!”

The Trollhunter was on his back desperately trying to avoid the snapping jaws of Lady Argant who was looming over him, cackling.

Claire gasped in shock at the human formed Jim and the evil creature that had tried to possess her. She turned to Strickler, “Go to him! I’ll be fine.” She added firmly at the changelings look of concern.

Nodding to her, Strickler changed forms, sprouting the wings Lady Argant had given him he flew over the witch, grabbed her by the hair and flung her as far as he could, coming in to land with a thud. “Are you okay?” he growled to Jim. 

The boy got shakily to his feet, “Yeah. Let’s just get this over with.” He panted, pointing Daylight at Lady Argant as she slithered upright, her black hair and eyes burning with spectral flames.

Her twisted jaw opened and she rasped out in a voice like grating stone, “My creation would try and kill me again? I gave you power and you stabbed me in the back, traitorous impure!” 

Strickler, snarled “You took my memories witch, you deserve to die!” Quicker then Argant could react he lunged forward, magic streaming from his hands as he plunged them through the witch’s chest. 

She gasped, giving a pitiful whimper, her soulless eyes wide in fear, for the first and last time in her century old life.

She screamed as with a thunk Jim embedded Daylight into her neck, effectively beheading her, gore splattering the blade in thick black lines as Argant’s bony rapidly withered away, a low moan gradually building up from her crumpled body. 

Strickler removed his hands from the corpse gingerly, “Jim get clear! She is about to explode!”

When the teen didn’t move, transfixed by the glowing black lines of rot branching out from the witch’s body, Strickler leapt forward, pushing Jim to the misty floor and using his own body as a shield, even as the Trollhunter protested, struggling against him. 

Just as Lady Argant’s remains exploded with a gut wrenching howl of agony, dark magic coiling in the air in thick black swathes. 

The blast knocked into Strickler, and the changeling hissed in pain, for the second time that day he lost consciousness, this time in a glaringly bright flash of white light.


	7. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strickler, Jim and Claire wake up and Nomura has a hard time accepting Strickler.

Jim woke up with a gasp, jerking upright from where he had been lying on the floor.

Barbara and Nomura fell back from him with looks filled with worry and concern. The Trollhunter touched his chest with a pant, gazing at his four fingered hand wishfully, he flexed his fingers before looking up and meeting his mom’s anxious blue eyes.

Barbara frowned, “Are you alright?”

Jim gave her a shaky nod, before turning to Claire, he crawled over to her, gently lifting her limp body into his lap, stroking the side of her cheek worriedly, “Please wake up.” He muttered.

Claire cracked her eyes open, “I’m up. It’s alright Jim the witch is gone, in case you were wondering.” She managed a weak smile.

“Thank God!” Jim squeezed her tightly, burrowing his face in her hair as she hugged him back.

Nomura sighed in relief, and then realized Strickler was still unconscious and covered in scorch marks. “Little Gynt, you may want to check on Strickler.” She whispered.

Jim, Claire and Barbara immediately looked over to where the winged changeling lay, pitifully curled in a ball. “Mom, hold Claire. I’ll just wake Strickler up.”

Jim helped the still weak girl rest against Barbara, who sighed, eyes still focused on Strickler’s limp form.

Jim bounded next to the changeling and gently touched his shoulder, “Hey, wake up, it’s all over, Lady Argant is dead and we saved Claire!” 

There was absolutely no response and Jim realised that Strickler was covered in severe burns, marring his green skin with black.

Jim’s blood ran cold, “Mom!” he called, fear in his voice at the state of the skinny changeling. Barbara immediately stood up, Claire leaning on Nomura’s shoulder for support, anxiously looking at Strickler’s limp form.

Barbara spoke calmly, “Is he still breathing?” she scanned the changeling with practised medical detachment and answered her own question by feeling Strickler’s pulse, it was faint but steadily getting stronger.

Jim looked over at her, wide eyed, “Is he..?”

Barbara shakily smiled, “Alive. But I don’t understand how he can be injured.”

Jim grimaced, “We went into Claire’s mind and we fought the witch that was trying to possess her. She died and the magical fallout hit Strickler because he shielded me.” Jim gently placed a hand on Strickler’s wing.

And the wing gave a small twitch.

Barbara and Jim exchanged relieved looks, watching as with a growl Strickler opened his golden eyes and sat up slowly, rubbing his head with both hands.

“Strickler?” Jim asked carefully.

He looked up, disorientated but otherwise intact, physically and thank heavens mentally. He still had his memories and frankly that was all that mattered.

He gave the anxious teen a reassuring smile and felt his tail give a small flick.

Strickler blinked at the limb in mild surprise, only now completely aware of the new additions to his body. Well, not so new, just the first time he was fully aware of them. He flared out his wings, gazing at them blankly, he hoped he wouldn’t have to relearn how to fly.

Jim laughed, while Barbara looked at him quizzically.

“I’m guessing you still have your memories.” Jim stated with a large, delighted grin and before he could second guess himself he hugged Strickler lightly. Surprised, Strickler hesitantly wrapped his wings around the boy briefly as the Trollhunter whispered to him, “Thank you for saving Claire.”

Strickler tried to say something, anything really, but much to his disappointment and frustration nothing came out except a small rumble of acknowledgement. He was beginning to doubt he would ever be able to talk.

Jim disengaged from the hug quickly, turning slightly away from the changeling in embarrassment. “Sorry.” He muttered.

Strickler rolled his eyes, gently squeezing Jim’s shoulder in a gesture that clearly said that it was alright.

Barbara cleared her throat, “I’m confused. Walter has his memories back?”

Strickler nodded with a small smile and tentatively placed his hand over hers. Barbara blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear at the intensely in Strickler’s golden eyes gaze.

She took a deep breath before stating seriously, “Walter while you were unconscious I gave you a medical check up as I doubted you would have wanted to be touched at all when awake. Everything is fine except for one thing.”

Strickler and Jim gave each other alarmed looks, “What thing would that be?” Jim asked, which was exactly what Strickler was thinking.

Barbara sighed, rubbing her forehead, “I’m going to put this bluntly; your vocal cords are completely destroyed, the fact you were able to say one word is a miracle. You won’t ever be able to speak again, I’m sorry.” At this she squeezed Strickler’s hand.

He didn’t feel it, his brain focused on the fact he would never be able to talk again. With his memories back he had hoped that with time he could regain speech. And talking was something that he had been good at. He had become the leader of the Janus Order through his skills of manipulation, renowned even among his fellow silver tongued half-breeds. He had always enjoyed the sound of his voice.

And now he was mute.

Strickler growled, turning his head away from Barbara and Jim so he didn’t see the pity in their eyes. He was reduced to making sounds like a bloody animal!

And then he made the mistake of meeting Nomura’s eyes.

The magenta changeling frowned at him, exchanged a quick word with Claire and then came over to their small group.

Barbara stood up quickly at Nomura’s approach and Strickler clamped down on the urge to whimper, instead he raised an eyebrow inquiringly. “I really need to properly check Claire upstairs and get something for those burns. I promise I won’t be long.” Barbara explained to him apologetically.

Strickler nodded, watching as the doctor helped Claire up, shooting one last look at the gloomy changeling sitting on the floor before guiding Claire upstairs and out of sight.

Nomura turned to Jim, “So, Claire really was possessed.” She stated as she sat down next to Jim.

He nodded, almost as glum as Strickler at the fact the winged changeling wouldn’t regain his voice, “Yep. I think I might become an expert on exorcising Claire from evil witches. Although Strickler was the reason it was possible.”

Strickler was staring at Nomura, she hadn’t changed much since that fateful day almost two hundred years ago.

A couple more cracks in her skin and slightly longer hair and notably less anger erupting from her scent, he couldn’t remember a time she had looked so at peace.

Nomura frowned, finally noticing Strickler quietly watching her, his golden eyes immediately turned away at the low growl she gave, “Why the hell are you staring at me for?”

Jim blinked at the magenta changeling and exchanged a nonplussed look with Strickler, who shrugged.

Nomura clarified, “Look, I know you saved Claire and all but you’re not to look at me, at all. You may have Strickler’s body but you’re not him. You don’t even remember me. So I’m out of here because the Strickler I knew is dead. And he’s not coming back.”

Strickler definitely wanted to be able to talk now, to explain everything to Nomura, that he wasn’t a shell of himself, that he had all his memories back.

But nothing came out except a pathetic low whimper of despair. Jim gaped at Nomura absolutely horrified as she got up slowly and stalked out of the room.

Jim clutched Strickler’s arm to get his attention, “Can’t you still do that talking into minds thing?”

Strickler gasped, nodding. He concentrated and then Jim heard his voice echo in his mind faintly, _“I can. But it drains energy and I’m already weak.”_

Jim gently squeezed Strickler’s arm, “Then only try and get her attention.” 

Strickler grimaced and slowly reached out his mind towards Nomura’s. He would have gone after her but he was still hurting everywhere from his burns.

He touched Nomura’s mind and growled, “ _Bloody hell, I’m not dead you ridiculous woman.”_

It wasn’t the cleverest thing he could have said to get her attention but hopefully it would convey his point, as he wasn’t going to be able to mentally project anything else, he was too exhausted.

But based on the small yelp he heard she must have heard him.

Nomura strode back into the room, green eyes flaring wildly. Strickler smirked smugly as her eyes finally focused on him. “You-how-I don’t understand.” She stuttered.

Strickler nudged Jim expectantly, the teen nodded and spoke up wryly, “Strickler got his memories back while we were inside Claire’s mind, so he does remember everything,you know. But you’re not going to be able to mentally project thoughts for a while, right?” that was addressed to Strickler, who sadly shook his head, tucking his tail closer to his body.

Nomura visibly paled, disbelief written across her face, she stumbled, almost collapsing on the floor in front of Strickler, scanning his eyes feverishly, for a sign that what Jim had said was true.

Strickler smiled at her shakily, quickly resting his forehead against hers in a firm show of affection. Nomura sobbed, still gazing into his eyes, which gazed back at her, full of an awareness that wasn’t there before. “Sorry.” She mumbled, as she hugged her nestmate tightly, burrowing her face in his hair as tears dripped down her face. 

She turned away, about to rub the tears away, but Strickler was too fast for her and caught a tear on his claw. He inspected it in mock surprise, raising a brow ridge at her.

She could almost hear him saying something about how unprofessional crying was or some other _bulshigal._

Nomura swatted his hand away, “Shut up.” 

Jim couldn’t help it, he snorted. Nomura growled at him, “You two tell anyone about this and I’ll kill you both!”

Strickler and Jim looked at each other, both knowing full well that Nomura wouldn’t be able to beat them even if she was serious. They both burst into laughter.

Strickler was only glad that he could still laugh, otherwise he doubted Nomura would look as pissed off as she did.

Barbara finished her check up on Claire and came downstairs with her, both talking happily about nothing in particular, their conversation cutting off at the sight that met their eyes.

Strickler, Jim and Nomura were all laughing together. 

Nomura grinned happily, “She was completely oblivious that night, the whole time me and Little Gynt were f-“ she stopped herself finishing that sentence at the glare Barbara was giving her.

“You better not be talking about what I think you’re talking about.” She stated firmly.

Jim nervously laughed, “No! Of course not! Claire how are you doing?” he asked anxiously, changing the subject.

She smiled softly, coming over to the small group to sit next to Jim with a content sigh as her boyfriend kissed her on the cheek. "I'm good." She said before reaching over to grasp Strickler’s hand, gratitude gleaming in her eyes, “Thank you so, so much for- you know.”

Claire blushed as Strickler gave a small bow, lowering his wings to her.

Nomura snorted, “Seriously who are you trying to impress?” Strickler glowered at her, giving a slight wince as one of the burns on his arm gave a painful twinge.

Barbara frowned, “Come on, let’s get those burns taken care of.”

Barbara made him sit on her bed while she applied a brown-green, very soothing paste to his wounds. It was quiet for a good fifteen minutes while the woman treated his injuries until Barbara gave a loud huff of exhaustion, having finally finished treating the burns she flopped back on the bed.

Strickler gazed at her with amusement, admiring the lines of her body and how the light made her ginger hair look like fire.

He didn’t know why he felt like this, she was human. He knew that sounded lame, Nomura had fallen in love with the past Trollhunters son after all.

Barbara saw him looking at her and quickly sat up, blushing furiously. There was something undeniably different in the way he was acting now that he had his memories back. Something more refined and confident, that only drew her to him even more. “You don’t mind writing down what happened inside Claire’s mind, do you?” Barbara asked. 

It didn’t take long to get Barbara up to date with everything that had occurred while in Claire’s mind, although it was annoying he had to write it all out.

He couldn’t help but teasingly flirt with Barbara, it was harder to do through writing but he made it work somehow. And to his delight, she was only too ready to respond in kind.

She at first did struggle to understand why he was interested in her of all people but he was quick to assure her that he meant it, with a light kiss on her forehead.

She shook her head wryly, “Nothing in life goes the way we expect it to go, does it?” 

Strickler shook his head and grinned when Barbara jumped off the bed and offered her hand down to him. He took it. “Lets get back downstairs before anyone starts to miss us.” Barbara smiled.

He allowed himself to be dragged out of the room with a small laugh. He had, unbelievably, found a place here, for however long that was.

And he would enjoy every moment of it.

Because if he had learnt anything from his time trapped underground it was to treasure the good times and to learn from the bad. But right now he was just happy to be free and alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I've finally finished something! Hope you've enjoyed! Thanks for reading.


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